The Green-Eyed Painting
by StarCrimson
Summary: Castiel had just bought a run down house on the edge of town. He stumbles across a mysterious painting of a man with incredibly green eyes. Who is this man and why is his portrait in the attic? Sort of a coffee-shop AU. My first mostly AU story ever. Inspired by a post on tumblr by destieldrabblesdaily. Please be review. :D Also on Archive of Our Own under the same name.
1. Chapter 1

**Castiel had just bought a run down house on the edge of town. He stumbles across a mysterious painting of a man with incredibly green eyes. Who is this man and why is his portrait in the attic? Sort of a coffee-shop AU. My first mostly AU story ever. Please be review.**

**This fic was inspired by a post on tumblr by destieldrabblesdaily. Please check them out, they're amazing! :D**

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><p><span><strong>The Green-Eyed Painting<strong>

Chapter 1:

Castiel had just bought the old, run down house. It was built at least one hundred years ago. The shutters were hanging off the windows most of the glass was broken. There was graffiti on the front of the building and was full of old furniture.

Castiel didn't know what, but there was just something about this three story house that called to him. When he stepped into the house for the first time, he felt a sudden sense of loneliness.

The rooms were dark, the windows covered with dusty, heavy drapes. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls, but there was something so charming about the place. You could almost image what it had looked like before the sands of time had reduced it to a crumbling wreck.

Castiel stepped cautiously up the stair case, afraid that they couldn't hold his weight, but they were surprisingly sturdy. Castiel continued up the stairs, running his fingers along the walls. Castiel reached the top of the stairs and overlooked the small balcony into the foyer. The crystal chandelier that hung there was old and covered with dust and cobwebs.

Suddenly, Castiel's foot fell through the floor. Luckily, he kept his hand on the bannister.

He let out a sigh of relief as he regained his footing. As he continued down the passage, he saw another set of stairs that seemed to go no where, but on closer inspection, there proved to be a small hatch.

"An attic." Castiel said out loud. He walked up the stairs and pushed the little hatch up. The attic was full of dusty covered furniture and boxes. However, in the corner, resting onto of an ornate chair, rested a painting that was covered in dust.

Castiel pulled out his handkerchief and wiped down the surface. Once he had finished, the most beautiful man Castiel had ever seen was revealed to him.

The man in the painting was sitting on an ornate chair, a lot like the one the painting was currently resting on. He was dressed in black period clothing that hugged his frame, making him appear slim but muscular. He had a hunting rifle resting against his leg in the background. The man's face was chiseled with just the hint of stubble. He looked more like a Greek god than a simple human. His lips were full and light pink and had a small smile. But Castiel couldn't stop looking at the man's eyes. They were a gorgeous shade of piercing green. Castiel was mesmerized by them.

"Aren't you beautiful?" Castiel whispered, stroking the painted man's face. Suddenly, Castiel's phone went off, breaking the painting's spell over him. With a shaky hand, Castiel pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered.

"Hello?" He said into the receiver. "Oh, hey Anna! Yeah, I'll be at the coffee shop in a minute! I'm just checking out the house I just bought."

Castiel hung up and stared at the painting for another moment. "I'll be back for you." He whispered, as if the painting could hear him. If Castiel hadn't have known better, he could have sworn the painting smiled. Castiel just put it down to his wild imagination.

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><p>Castiel closed the coffee-shop that night and headed straight for the house rather than his apartment. Castiel tore upstairs to the attic. His mind had been on that painting all day.<p>

He turned on his flashlight and found his way over to the painting. Castiel looked around for the name of the artist, or the subject, but much to his disappointment, he couldn't find anything. Castiel picked up the painting and gingerly carried it out of the house and put it gently in the back seat of his car.

Castiel drove back over to his apartment and knocked on the door. "Anna!" He hissed. The door opened to reveal his roommate and sister Anna. She had a surprised look on her face.

"What is that?" She asked incredulously.

"It's a painting I found in that old house. Help me, would you?" He said. Anna shook her head in amusement and helped him carry the painting inside. They lent it against the wall and both stood back to look at it.

"Does it say who that is or who painted it?" Anna asked.

Castiel shook his head. "No, I already checked."

Anna shrugged. "Well, whoever it is, he's really hot!" Castiel rolled his eyes, but didn't deny her claim.

"I think I want to put it up in the coffee-shop." Castiel said.

Anna raised an eyebrow at him. "Really Cas? What, so you can stare at it all day?" She said, teasingly. Castiel nudged her playfully.

"No, I just think it would look good against the ugly brick wall." Castiel reply.

"It's not ugly! You just have no sense of style!" Anna said. "Fine, hang it up there. Remember, you have the morning shift tomorrow and for the rest of the month."

Cas rolled his eyes. "I know Anna! Go to bed!" Cas said, grinning.

"You go to bed! You're the one who has to get up early!" Anna retorted. Cas laughed, but followed her advice. After a quick shower, Cas went straight to bed.

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><p><strong>So yeah, that was the first chapter. There's probably only going to be three chapters. I hope you enjoyed it so far! Please review! :D<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Castiel had just bought a run down house on the edge of town. He stumbles across a mysterious painting of a man with incredibly green eyes. Who is this man and why is his portrait in the attic? Sort of a coffeeshop AU. My first mostly AU story ever. Please be review.

This fic was inspired by a post on tumblr by destieldrabblesdaily. Please check them out, they're amazing! :D

**The Green-Eyed Painting**

Chapter 2:

Castiel got up a bit earlier than he needed to that morning, quickly dressing. He grabbed a hammer, two heavy duty hooks from his laundry, the painting and put them in his car. He woke up Anna just as he was leaving.

Castiel managed to get the hooks into the brick wall after getting some other things from the hardware store opposite his coffee-shop. Castiel carefully hung the painting up on the wall and stood back to admire it.

Castiel let out a pleased sigh. "Don't you look handsome this morning!" Cas said to the painting, feeling a little silly, but not really caring. He shook his head at his folly and began to set the shop up for customers.

It may only be a small town, but his coffee shop got business from almost the whole town. Castiel had grown up here and had only left to go to college before coming back. Castiel had a degree in Literature and Art. Castiel didn't consider himself a great artist and he was in awe of the painting that now hung opposite him. He was almost envious of the artist who had been given the honour of painting such a beautiful man. Castiel sighed when the first customer came in, ready to start the day.

Soon, days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, and in all that time, Castiel never got tired of that beautiful painting.

When Castiel was alone, cleaning up after the day's end, he would talk to the painting, telling him about himself and how, when he was a small boy, his parents had died and he and his sister Anna and his brother Gabriel had moved here to live with their aunt Naomi. Naomi had died not long after Castiel had finished at college. Castiel missed her, and his brother, who was going to college on the other side of the country, in California.

He'd tell the painting his troubles and his doubts. Even though it was an inanimate object, Castiel grew to think of the man in the painting as a sort of friend. Castiel didn't have many friends. There was Ash and Adam, and Jo and Ellen, but outside of them, he didn't have any friends. Sure, his regular customers were sort of like friends, but he wouldn't go so far as to invite them over to dinner or anything.

Castiel was pleased with the work he was getting done on the house. He had been knocking down walls and replacing floor boards over the past month and was now putting up new walls and painting them. Castiel secretly wanted to take the painting home to keep for himself, but the painting was becoming quite the fixture in the coffee shop and people would notice if he took it down.

"Are you mooning over that painting again?" Anna said, coming up behind him.

"No!" Said Castiel sheepishly.

Anna chuckled. "You know he's dead, right? The guy in the painting. That painting gotta be pretty old. So I suggest you get over your infatuation." Anna said teasingly.

Castiel shoved her lightly. "I'm not infatuated! It's just a really good painting. I wish I could paint that well." Cas said in reply.

Anna rested her hand on Castiel's shoulder. "You are that good! You can paint that well! Don't sell yourself short just because you didn't paint this one! Stop moping!" Anna said.

Cas rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Cas replied.

"I gotta go, thanks for covering for me! This guy, he's a sweetie..!" Anna said.

"Yeah yeah! You owe me! Now get out of here. Go experience that thing called fun." Castiel said with a grin.

Anna grinned. "Bye! Don't work too hard!" Anna cried, grabbing her handbag and high-tailing it out of the coffee shop. Cas grinned after her.

Cas walked over to a table of elderly ladies and put their coffees gently on the table.

"We were just admiring that painting you hanging up there. I haven't seen it since I was a little girl, but who could forget such a handsome face?" One of the ladies, Beatrice said.

"Oh, Betty!" Said the other lady, Denise. "Don't start with your stories!"

"You've seen this painting before? Do you know who the subject is?" Castiel asked.

Betty chuckled. "Well, my grandmother said that he was a hunter and he was called in by the local sheriff to kill a witch who had be terrorising the local neighbourhood." Betty said, her Irish accent showing through.

"What happened to him?" Castiel asked.

"He managed to kill the witch, but not before she put a curse upon him. She trapped in the painting for eternity, only to be freed if called upon again and only if called upon by someone worthy of his protection." Betty said.

Castiel chuckled. "I'm assuming that hasn't happened yet." Castiel said.

"Indeed not. Maybe he'll save you someday, my lad!" Betty said.

Castiel shrugged. "I doubt it!" He replied and walked away from the two ladies.

Castiel looked up as the door jingled. A homeless man came in and walked up to the counter.

Castiel smiled at the man. "Are you hungry? Would you like some food?" Castiel said kindly to the man.

The man nodded. Cas picked up one of the ham and salad rolls and an apple juice box, put them in a brown paper bag and handed it to the man.

The man took the bag. "Thank you." He murmured, putting a coin on the counter. Cas smiled at the man.

"No need," Cas said, handing the coin back to the homeless man. "Stay safe."

The homeless man smiled and left the coffee shop. Castiel smiled. He grabbed a couple of dollars out of his wallet and put them in the til to cover the food.

Cas tried to help as much as he could, and if giving a homeless man a sandwich was helping, then he would do it everyday.

Once again, night fell and Castiel began to close up shop.

He grabbed his stuff and walked over to the painting. "Good night. See you in the morning." He whispered to the painting before shutting the shop.

Cas headed back to apartment and showered before going to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Castiel had just bought a run down house on the edge of town. He stumbles across a mysterious painting of a man with incredibly green eyes. Who is this man and why is his portrait in the attic? Sort of a coffee-shop AU. My first mostly AU story ever. Please be review.**

**This fic was inspired by a post on tumblr by destieldrabblesdaily. Please check them out, they're amazing! :D**

**Last chapter people! Though I am tempted to write a sequel now.. ;)**

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><p><span><strong>The Green-Eyed Painting<strong>

Chapter 3:

Castiel often wondered if what Betty had said was true, that the man in the painting had been cursed and put in there for all eternity. Castiel stared into those sad green eyes, almost expecting the man to answer.

Cas had almost finished remodeling the house and would move in soon. He would love to take the painting with him and hang it back up in the house.

Castiel was really proud of his work on the run down house that wasn't really run down any more. He had tried to keep the period theme of the house, choosing furniture and colours that were modern, but still matched the feel of the house. Anna was really proud as well, excited to get the apartment to herself. Well, to herself and her very stable boyfriend. Gabriel was coming east soon for spring break and Castiel was hoping to have the house ready before he got there.

Castiel found himself falling in love with the man in the painting. Cas often went to the library to find out anything he could on the painting. He found an account of the sheriff of the time calling a hunter, though his name, much to Castiel's chagrin, was not listed, to dispose of a witch that had been killing the local livestock and cursing certain people. There was also mention of the painting, but not if the legend was true or not.

Castiel wished he knew the hunter's name. He did, however, find the hunter's journal. It didn't have his name in it, but it listed accounts of creatures, ghosts and demons that the hunter had killed or destroyed.

The writing in the book was beautiful. The words flowed and curved into each other in such a way, they could have belonged to a scribe. The hunter was clearly an educated man.

Castiel didn't know what to believe. But at least he knew that the man existed. The journal spoke of the hunter's life. The hunter often spoke of being ashamed of something, but the journal never really said what. Castiel discovered, reading the pages of the journal, apart from all the occult stuff, the hunter was an incredibly fascinating man.

"Oh god," Castiel whispered. "I'm falling in love with a man in a painting!"

Castiel shook his head and put the journal back in the box the library use to protect very old books. 

He left the library and went back to the coffee shop after his lunch break.

The bell on the door rang and Castiel looked up to see his brother Gabriel walking in through the door.

"Cassie!" Gabriel cried.

Castiel grinned and walked around the counter to embrace his brother. "Hey, Gabe! It's good to see you!" Castiel said, not even annoyed at Gabriel's use of his childhood nickname.

"Where's Anna?" Gabriel asked.

"On break. I just got off break. I don't know where she is. Do you wanna coffee?" Castiel asked, moving back behind the counter.

"Uh, sure. A medium Mocha latte with extra foam please." Gabriel asked, sitting on the stood next to the counter.

Gabriel spun on his chair. "Who's the hottie?" He asked.

"Who?" Cas asked, looking up from the coffee he was making.

"In the painting." Gabe replied. "Did you do it? It kinda looks like your style."

"No, I didn't paint it. I don't know who that is. I found it in the attic of my house." Cas replied.

"Yeah, how is the referb going?" Gabriel asked.

"I'm done actually. It was a lot of hard work, but I had some help from the locals and I managed to get it all done." Cas replied.

"Awesome. Are you gonna put that painting back up in the house?" Gabe asked.

Cas shrugged. "Probably. I really like it. It's a really good painting." Cas replied.

"Yeah, doesn't hurt that the subject is gorgeous." Gabe said, turning back to Castiel with a wink.

"I didn't think you swung that way, Gabe." Cas said, not meeting his eyes.

"Eh, sometimes. But I know you do!" Gabriel said teasingly.

Cas rolled his eyes, but he was blushing and Gabe saw it. "Haha! You have the hots for a painting!" Gabe cried.

"Shut-up!" Cas hissed, slapping Gabe on the arm. No one in this town knew that Cas was gay. Not that he was trying to hide it or anything, but a situation in which he had to tell someone other than his brother and sister never came up. 26 years old and hadn't had a boyfriend since college. It wasn't hard to say that Castiel was lonely. Maybe that was why he had become so attached to the painting and the man featured in it.

Gabe just giggled at him. Cas rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut up and drink your coffee!" Castiel said, exasperated. 

Gabe came and left through out the day. Anna and Gabe had a big tearful reunion that Castiel couldn't help but smile at.

"Okay, you close up, and we'll go out for tea!" Gabe said, grinning.

Anna smiled sadly. "I'd love too, but I am so tired. Could we tomorrow night?" Anna asked.

Gabe rolled his eyes. "Yeah alright. Tomorrow then!" Gabe said, and then he grinned. "I'm gonna go out to a bar, get pissed, pick up a chick or a dude, whatever and Imma have myself a party since the both of you are tired." Castiel chuckled.

"Go have a drink on me!" Castiel said.

"Sure will little bro!" Gabriel replied, kissing Anna and Cas on the cheeks before leaving.

"I'm gonna go too. Night Cas!" Anna said, waving her goodbye.

"Yeah, bye!" Cas replied. 

It was 7 o'clock by the time Castiel ushered the last of the customers out of the shop and he closed and locked the door. He was over next to the painting, cleaning a table when he heard a smash from behind him.

Castiel turned in time to see a guy wearing a black ski mask run over and push him down. Castiel, in his haste to find something to hold onto, knocked the painting off the wall and down onto the floor.

The man in the ski mask held a knife to Cas's throat and held him down.

"Give me all the money and all your valuables!" The man yelled. Suddenly, the man was lifted off him and thrown across the room. Castiel's eyes widened when he saw the man who had saved him.

It was the man in the painting! The man moved towards the fallen man and began to beat up him up.

"Get out of here you arse! This man is under my protection!" The man said, pushing the intruder up against the wall. "Get gone!" The man hissed. The man dropped the intruder to the ground and the would-be thief ran out of the store through the broken glass.

Castiel was still on the floor, eyes widened in shock. The man turned and walked towards him. The man held his hand out to Castiel. "Are you alright, Cas?" He asked softly. His voice was rich and warm with a slight southern twang that made Castiel shiver.

Castiel took the man's outstretched hand and stood up. "Yes," Castiel whispered weakly in reply.

The man smiled. "My name's Dean Winchester, by the way." Dean said, his green eyes twinkling.

"Hi," Castiel breathed. "I'm Castiel Novak."

Dean grinned. "I know," He replied. "I know everything about you."

Castiel almost frowned. "H-how?" Castiel asked.

"I've been awake these last two hundred years, seeing and hearing everything around me. You're the first person that has talked to me in all that time. I thank you, you've been very kind." Dean said, still holding Castiel's hand.

Dean had been slowly falling in love with Castiel over these last six or seven months. He loved it when Cas told him about his day, about himself, his past, his thoughts and feelings. He loved Castiel. Castiel with his bright blue eyes. Blue eyes that had enchanted him ever since he first saw them when Castiel had found him in the attic.

Dean smiled at Cas and leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to him mouth. Castiel gasped in surprise before melting into the kiss. He felt so safe and protected, wrapped in Dean's arms.

"God, two hundred years being a painting, and he kisses like Heaven!" Castiel thought to himself as Dean depend the kiss. Castiel moaned and Dean pulled back and winked at him.

"Nice to meet you, Castiel." Dean whispered. Castiel grinned.

"Nice to meet you too, Dean." Castiel replied before pulling Dean into another kiss.

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><p><strong>So, what did you think? This is the shortest fanfiction I have ever written. I hope you enjoyed it! :D<strong>


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